Grimsby Town take on Sunderland U21s in their final Checkatrade Trophy group game.

There may have been nothing to play for, but there was plenty for fans to keep an eye on as Grimsby Town ended their Checkatrade Trophy campaign against Sunderland Under-21s.

The two sides were aiming to avoid finishing bottom of their group in the competition, and it was the visitors who came away with the victory via a penalty shoot-out in front of a record-low crowd at Blundell Park.

For Town, there was a huge injury boost as Jamey Osborne and Mitch Rose both started, while Sean McAllister came off the bench during the second half.

Meanwhile, there were a few familiar faces involved for the Black Cats.

Former Manchester City and Everton midfielder Jack Rodwell started for the visitors, and he was joined by ex-Wigan Athletic winger Callum McManaman.

Recap all the action from Town's final Trophy outing this season with our live updates below!

Key Events

On to Exeter...

That’s it from us this evening - the Mariners will be back in action on Saturday when they make the long trip to Exeter for their return to League Two action.

We’ll have all the news ahead of that game with our live updates from tomorrow’s press conference - hope you can join us then!

22:40

A few thoughts from the manager

Russell Slade has just had his say on this evening’s game - here are some of his thoughts...

“There were some good things. It was a competitive game, and that is exactly what we wanted.

“To be fair to Sunderland, they played with real intensity in the first-half. It was fairly even and there were chances at both ends.

“In the second-half, we grew stronger and got our noses in front, but we should have maybe seen the game out a little better.

“We might have got that second goal straightaway, but they quickly broke and got an equaliser through a deflection.”

21:59

Stay tuned

Thank you for joining us for tonight’s live updates. Stay tuned and we will hopefully be bringing you the thoughts of manager Russell Slade on tonight’s performance.

21:58

So that's it...

Town finish their Checkatrade Trophy campaign for this season bottom of their mini-league. Did Russell Slade take it seriously? The fans certainly haven’t judging by dwindling attendance figures culminating in tonight’s lowest ever for a competitive fixture at Blundell Park. The competition is a good chance to give some fringe player some minutes on the pitch but has the over-riding feel of a reserve fixture. It will be interesting if the fans’ boycott across the competition, not just here tonight will have an impact going forward.

21:54

New penalty system

I have to say, in my opinion the new penalty system is awful. Nobody really knew what was going on, the referee included once it got to ‘sudden death’ stage. What was wrong the old system that had worked for years? If it ain’t broke........

21:52

McCallister

MISSED! McCallister’s powerful strike smashes against the bar and after a lengthy pause, where nobody really knew what was going on, the referee blew his whistle to indicate a Sunderland victory on penalties.